There are books and books. The ones that meant the most to me were by David Darling (cosmologist I think), Frank Tipler (mathematician, physicist), and Pierre de Chardin (Jesuit archaeologist), but I don't recommend them as light reading. I'll give you the matinee version and save you a lot of brain cells.

First, get comfortable with the idea that both space and time don't really exist, we just pretend they do. At the level of our existence we need something to order things so that we aren't rendered catatonic by the Universe. Imagine the overload if it hit you all at once. Poof! No more you.

Now, think about this time/space illusion stretching far into the past. Then think about it stretching many millions of times farther into the future. Keep in mind that it is all illusion, though.

Having that as the stage, take a look at the drama taking place. Whether you start with the Big Bang 10 billion years ago or Genesis 6000 years ago is irrelevant. Both are myths to keep us sane.

But whatever the beginning, the play has been a steady stream of happenings each leading to a greater level of complexity. From seething plasma to electron to atom to molecule to star to planet to microbe to fish to mammal to human to mind to tribal mind to internet mind to...

Now if you project those graphs out into the huge future what on earth happens out in the universe? Well......God is one name for it, but again that is a myth to keep us sane. By the way, "myth" is not a term of disrespect.

Somewhere down the path of those graphs the last linkage is made. Everything is connected. A zillion years from now (illusion) everything in the Universe becomes one and realizes it is God and that certain obligations go with the title. One is that to be God requires that It shake off the chains of space and time and claim the rest of Its identity (that's you and me}. Another is that it is obvious that the only thing that can create God is God (by definition) so that's high up on the "Cosmic To Do" list. So, transcending space and time, God simply closes/closed the circle and said/says "Let there be light....etc"

And since time and space don't really exist, this is happening right now and right here. So, everything's cool whether we know it or not.

And don't even get me started on Multiverses.

Rick, at age five I decided that certain things were unknowable. I couldn't conceive of eternity, infinity, a universe that was endless, or one had an end, because what was outside of it? Certain questions have no answers. It's beyond our understanding. Still, the questioning is fascinating, isn't it?

I recall asking my mother about heaven, because I was scared of being dead for eternity, at age five. She said Yes, there were swimming pools in heaven. It was comforting when she lied to me, but I remember thinking, Does she really think I believe this stuff? I knew none of it was true, but it was still comforting to have her comfort me.

Maybe our seeking answers is comforting to us.

I saw part of a NOVA show about parallel universes and Membrane Theory, which I'd never heard of before. Very interesting. Here's the transcript:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...unitrans.shtml

You are absolutely right, Zucchiniflower, comfort is what we seek when we try to find answers to the unknown and unanswerable questions of life and existence.
A lovely fairy tale - or wishful lie - is a great balm to the fear of death. For adults as well as for children, hope of happiness is much easier to live with than is the certainty of non-existence - even when we know that it is only hopeful thinking.
Most of the questions that have no answers are explained in mythologies and religions through allegory and poetic fantasy. The multitude of religious believers shows how important it is to mankind to create wishful fairy tales. Whether we believe them literally or not, the stories provide comfort. With utmost respect to those who do believe, we can hope, we can have faith, but none of us can know for certain what does happen to the soul after death, or for that matter, where the soul was before birth, I think we are perfectly justified in creating comforting and hopeful answers.
Two of our 3 year old grandchildren asked me this Christmas where they were when their parents were little children. The stock answer I know is, "You were a twinkle in your daddy's (mommy's?) eye."
However, one of the two is adopted from China, and very happily aware of being born to other parents, so she could be adopted by her Mommy and Daddy. It would have been an answer full of new questions.
I said instead that before we were born we were all of us beautiful butterflies in Dreamland. The two mothers were not so sure that they liked the lie - but for all I know, we might well, all of us, have been beautiful butterflies in Dreamland before we were born. The little ones were fascinated with the idea, and I think it is a nice and comforting thought. More fairy tale and less 'lie' than the tooth fairy and the easter bunny.

birte

As a person of faith, I think what you described, Rick, does not rule out a trinity, in fact it supports it. It also supports other statements, like 'It is done".

I think science and faith in a higher being go together quite well. The problem with the stem cell debate, is one of personal ethics, not religion. And I don't want to start talking about it!

The whole thing is totally cellular, it seems. As a dear friend once said, '"I'm quite busy at the cellular level." Then there is the electricity..."ET PHONE HOME".

Who knows? What is the mystery of life?

paula

Who is to say that, because a thing can only be described in the language of metaphor and poetry, that it is not true? Myths describe realities, and the old stories point to truth. The acceptance of the notion that only factual thinking is of any use in understanding our lives is a phenomenon of recent development and one of the Devil's best tricks!

Jaye

Myth, etc is an area where we address the most important questions and I agree whole heartedly that my interpretation leaves room for God. The division between faith and science is an artficial one generated by two guys on opposite ends of the same elephant.

The need for comfort may indeed produce the need for faith, but another possibility is an innate sensing of "something" beyond our ability to understand.

The problems arise when faith is not enough and we demand certainty.

Essential to this argument is the concept of a 'soul,'
or soul-network: 'something' beyond the physical perception, and beyond the spatial limitations of energy, working in accordance to its own plan.

Jung envisioned, beyond the mechanistic aspect of the 'normal' world, a broader framework of existence, in which all things are connected via an indefinable ether-verse, encompassing such derided/quizzical concepts as "meaningful coincidences,

" foreknowledge/precognition/intuition, ESP, telepathy, telekinesis, and so on.

As a human came to channel the Quantum theory, "...we must regard them as creative acts, as the continuous creation of a pattern that exists from all eternity, repeats itself sporadically, and is not derivable from any known antecedents. quote cg jung

Chinese sages knew three thousand years before, could not be comprehended consciously, but through meditative "non-being" ... or the ~unconscious state~, Jung is quick to clarify. Integral to this discussion are archetypes, the common models upon which cultural icons/identities are patterned. Jung does not go into specifics here (for he mined archetypes throughout his career) but does pose several interesting notes - the theory of whether numbers actually existed, as archetypes, before human conception (and human existence?) was certainly something to ponder upon.

*Sychronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle*

I wonder if this is what I think of when miracles happen?

I was taught in public school, by my science teacher, from my science book, written by science scholars, approved by the state and federal governments, that only life can beget life. This was presented to me as a scientfic fact...not theory...not a faith exercise...not a religious experience...not a believe-it-or-not, take-it-or-leave-it, it's-your-choice statement. It was an irrefutable fact. It is now 46 years later, and upon searching present day life-science text books, I can find no trace of that "Fact." What I do find, however, is a lot of theory presented as being fact. I also find that during that 46 year time span, no one has disproved the fact that I was taught. Where did it go? Is it no longer considered important enough to be discussed or even mentioned? Has life been devalued? What exactly does Science want me to believe?

michael

I wonder if these are the same people who are telling me that there is no cure for Parkinson's Disease? Just a thought.

Committee Begins 110th Congress With New Name, Website And Ambitious Agenda

Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) began his tenure as a House Committee Chairman with the announcement of a new name for the Committee, a new website and an overview of action areas that will comprise an ambitious agenda for the 110th Congress.

The House Rules Package (H.Res. 6) passed today changes the Committee’s name from the Committee on Science to the Committee on Science and Technology. This name change brings the Committee back to its roots to more accurately reflect its broad jurisdiction in the areas of science, research and technology.

The Committee also unveiled its new website –
http://science.house.gov

– a one-stop shop for the latest science and Committee news, hearing and event schedules and broadcasts, science educational tools for teachers and students, and a clearinghouse of federal science resources.

"The Committee on Science and Technology has an exciting session ahead," stated Chairman Gordon. "We look forward to listening to &squot;good ideas&squot; from our Committee Members and the public as we work to assure America’s competitiveness in the world."

Among the areas on the Committee’s agenda in the new Congress: a continued effort to assure that U.S. workers are equipped to compete in the global economy; a firm commitment to math and science education on all levels; work to utilize the strategic energy fund created in Congress’ "first 100 hours" to increase our nation’s energy independence; maximizing the effectiveness of the nation’s civil and commercial space and aeronautics programs; working to assure the security of our nation, citizens and communities; and insuring adequate federal support for basic research.

Chairman Gordon added, "The federal commitment to science, technology and research is an integral part of the U.S. ability to compete in the global economy. In the next few weeks, the President will submit his budget to Congress. I am hopeful he will finally fulfill the pledge he made in last year’s State of the Union address to act on and fund competitiveness and innovation efforts with clear budget direction."

Chairman Gordon expects the Committee to meet in the coming weeks to formally organize and assemble subcommittees. The first order of legislative business will likely be a "housekeeping" mark-up session aimed at clearing non-controversial bills that passed the Committee in the 109th Congress, but failed to complete the legislative cycle.

#110-001



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I walked away from catholocism, and evangalism and some other 'isms for good luck. I became a sort of athiest, then I thought about the whole mess for about 8 years and decided that one must comitt to some sort of ism in order to choose a path to follow. So I settled on an ism that was presented to me and had a pretty good showing, and was a little off beat (not a lot of people on this trail) and proceeded to raise my children within it's influence. It fell short of perfect in many ways,but at least my children had learned to tie their spiritual shoelaces and were walking uprightly among their fellow human beings. Along the way I had to learn that "facts" are subjective, the universe abhors a vaccuum -even in our heads, and that we all live in our own version of the universe at this time. Quantum physics and religion seem to be coming up over opposite horizons to form what looks to me like it may be a full circle pretty soon. The knowledge of the mystics is filtering down to the common man and we are beginning to understand that we are in "fact" all one entity, yet to be determined in name. In spite of my "isms" name I have kept my mind open to other peoples "isms" and found many similarities that lead me to believe that at the edge of apparant chaos lies a circle of complete order in which we all exist and are one. When we find this oneness it will be our collective conscience in perfect order and we will be able to move forward and we will understand who we are and what is next. Until then, war, injustice, fear, doubt, selfishness and all its variations will rule our lives and PD will seem like it has no purpose except to make us miserable.
There is something about being 12 that makes you begin to think about who you might really be, what you are doing in this mess, and where the heck you should go next. No wonder adolesence is such a nightmare! I'm much happier at 50 + .....I think.